Blog Archives

Colonialism is defined as “control by one power over a dependent area or people.” In practice, colonialism is when one country violently invades and takes control of another country, claims the land as its own, and sends people — “settlers” — to live on that land. Read the rest of this entry →

A movement to abolish Columbus Day and replace it with Indigenous Peoples Day has gained momentum in some parts of the U.S., with Los Angeles in August becoming the biggest city yet to decide to stop honoring the Italian explorer and instead recognize victims of colonialism. Read the rest of this entry →

Left, Nazis stand before a mass grave of victims of the Jewish Holocaust; right: U.S. soldiers pose for a picture near a mass grave of dead Lakotas following the Wounded Knee Massacre of December 29, 1890.

Hitler admired the US system, while the ‘greatest nation’ won’t recognize its past

by Simon Moya-Smith, Indian Country Media Network, August 27, 2017

It was 72 years ago that the imprisoned and starved and viciously battered victims of Hitler and his Nazi thugs were liberated by Soviet troops.

Hitler – the coward, who’d later commit suicide rather than face the music – was incontrovertibly one of the world’s most brutal and bloodthirsty bastards to ever walk the globe.

This year, the federal government plans to spend half a billion dollars on events marking Canada’s 150th anniversary, prompting a great deal of debate about its historical treatment of Indigenous peoples. The majority of Canadians don’t have all the facts about that, while First Nations continue to live the crisis-level effects of that legacy. Perhaps Canada should cancel its celebrations and undertake the hard work necessary to make amends.

Tens of thousands of records amassed during various stages of the settlement process with the survivors of Indian residential schools will be released to the public for the first time this week – shedding further light on a long and often brutal attempt by the government at forced assimilation.

Indigenous men are more likely to be murdered than anyone else in Canada – possibly more than 2,000 in a 30-year period.

By Jeremy Warren, The Starphoenix,April 18, 2015

Grace Lafond-Barr believes healing starts in the home, so she moved her family to Muskeg Lake Cree Nation from Saskatoon two years ago to escape the city where murder took away her two brothers and a son.

She hopes the distance between the city and her grandkids will mean a quieter life without the spectre of violence and vice following them as they grow into young men. Lafond-Barr has seen enough of that: in 2002, her 36-year-old brother was stabbed to death; in 2011, a 15-year-old boy shot and killed her 28-year-old son; her 35-year-old halfbrother was fatally stabbed in front of their elderly father in November 2014. “It’s a heartache I don’t wish on anyone at all. In a lot of ways, we’ve failed our children because we’re not the parents we’re supposed to be,” Lafond-Barr said in a recent interview at her home on the reserve north of Blaine Lake.

Colonists write the rules on how we are governed, and how we are supposed to resist their control is outlined within these rules —rules that provide a misdirected sense of security and certainty by permitting us to launch our grievances according to these rules. Read the rest of this entry →

At least 3,000 children, including four under the age of 10 found huddled together in frozen embrace, are now known to have died during attendance at Canada’s Indian residential schools, according to new unpublished research. Read the rest of this entry →

Debates arising from the recent Idle No More movement have revealed two main interpretations of what comprises the grassroots. One seeks to exclude band councils, while the other views chiefs & councillors as an integral part of the grassroots, simply by virtue of them being members of the community. Clearly, we need some basic understanding of what constitutes the grassroots in order to advance our movement. Read the rest of this entry →

On Dec. 10, 2012, several thousand Native peoples rallied across Canada as part of a national day of action dubbed “Idle No More” (INM). The protests targeted Bill C-45 and the policies of the ruling Conservative Party. In Edmonton, as many as 1,500 turned out, one of the largest. A reported 400 people attended in Calgary and Winnipeg, with anywhere from 100 to 300 participating in Toronto, Regina, Saskatoon, North Battleford, and Vancouver. Read the rest of this entry →